This invention relates to alkyl carboxyalkylated polyether surfactants of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,183,853; 2,653,972; 3,003,954; 3,038,862; 3,741,911; and 3,941,710; British Pat. Nos. 456,517 and 1,169,496; Canadian Pat. No. 912,395; French Pat. Nos. 2,014,084 and 2,042,793; Netherland patent applications 7,201,735-Q and 7,406,336; and Japanese patent applications 96,579/71 and 99,331/71 (both in the name of Kao Soap Company, Ltd.) all of said patents and said patent applications being incorporated herein by reference.
Such carboxy alkylated alkyl polyether surfactants are typically prepared from alkyl polyether nonionic surfactants having a distribution of analogs of varying oxyethylene chain length including a level of unethoxylated alcohol. It has been discovered that these fatty alcohols are acceptable if they are carboxyalkylated, but are a detriment if they are not reacted. However, it is known that the fatty alcohol is the least reactive species in the normal process of, e.g., carboxymethylation.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide carboxyalkylated alkyl polyether surfactants having a low level of fatty alcohol.
It is a further object of this invention to provide processes for producing said carboxyalkylated alkyl polyether surfactants having a low level of fatty alcohol.
It is a further object of this invention to provide detergent compositions containing said carboxyalkylated alkyl polyether surfactants and having a low level of fatty alcohol.
It is a further object to provide processes for preparing alkyl polyether precursors which are nonionic surfactants having narrow ranges of ethoxylation and low fatty alcohol contents.
It is a still further object to provide a process for preparing said alkyl polyethers without a solvent.